Should We Lower the Drinking Age?

MARINA BROCKWAY 18, Westwood

Not all 18-year-olds are able to handle alcohol. But I don’t think the law is necessarily working. It is easy to get alcohol if you are underage. You either know people who are 21 or you tap people on the shoulder in front of a liquor store and ask them to buy for you.

When you’re 18, you are considered an adult in many regards.

At 18, you can join the Army and be given weapons training and the responsibility of protecting your country. You can get shot, but you can’t get a beer.

What sense does that make?

I think some critics are correct when they say there may be an increase in traffic accidents and deaths among teenagers, if the drinking age were lowered. It would make sense because not all 18-year-olds can handle themselves with alcohol. But neither can some adults, as the newspaper headlines show every day. How do you know who will drink responsibly?

People who want to get drunk will get drunk no matter what the laws say.